Weather warnings as fresh snow, rain, and winds forecast for UK

A boy laughs as he is hit by a snowball as he plays in the snow near Bath earlier this month. This weekend’s cold weather is unlikely to bring as much snow.Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Don’t put away those winter hats and gloves just yet: parts of the UK are set for rain, high winds and more snow this week, forecasters have warned.

A front moving from the south-west towards the north-east is set to bring heavy rain on Wednesday and Thursday along with strong winds. The latter part of the week will see a return to colder temperatures, according to the Met Office.

A weather warning has been issued for the eastern part of Northern Ireland for heavy rain from Wednesday afternoon and into Thursday morning, which forecasters said could lead to some flooding and result in longer journey times.

Met Office spokeswoman Nicky Maxey said there was potential for further yellow warnings to be issued as a result of that front and there was a chance of gale force winds.

She said by Friday the rain would be confined to the east and there would be dryer conditions elsewhere.

“We start to see colder air coming in from the east then, as we go through Friday and into Saturday, when that cold air meets that band of rain on the east side of the country, there’s a chance that some of that rain could turn to snow over higher ground,” she said.

Maxey said temperatures in London, which reached double digits on Tuesday, would fall as low as 5C by Sunday. In some rural areas temperatures may struggle to climb above zero.

She said there was a higher risk of snow on Sunday as the cold air moved across the southern half of the UK. However, it would not compare to the conditions caused by the so-called ‘beast from the east’ earlier this month.

“It is going to be a cold spell – there is a chance some places on Sunday may struggle to get above freezing ... so it is going to be cold, but we are not talking anywhere near what we had the weekend before last,” Maxey said.